


She Gets What She Wants

by madeof_it



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 09:07:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1852420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madeof_it/pseuds/madeof_it
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione Granger realizes her feelings for her former Potions Professor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Gets What She Wants

She didn't spend too much time thinking about it, afraid she'd find that her new life was just a dream. After so many years of cowering, living day to day and hoping for survival, begging for the war to be over, it finally was. Voldemort was defeated, his remains vanishing along with all traces of the ancient spell Harry had used to destroy the Dark Lord. There had been months of euphoria in the wizarding world, and the casualties to the side of the light had been blessedly few.

Things were just starting to calm down. Harry and Ron had been invited to join the Aurors and were in the midst of training. An employment offer had also been extended to Hermione, but she'd refused it, saying that she had had enough of the violence and turmoil that came with that line of work. Instead, she'd managed to finagle an apprenticeship out of the impressive Potions Master of Hogwarts.

If anyone had said a year prior that one of the Golden Trio would be willingly working beneath Severus Snape, any Hogwarts students would have laughed. It was common knowledge that Professor Snape had loathed Gryffindors in general, but it was also clear that he had a special brand of distaste for Harry Potter and his two best friends. Ron Weasley was often referred to as the Red-haired Dunderhead, and Hermione Granger was an Insufferable Know-it-All for the duration of her education at Hogwarts. It was later revealed that Snape's dislike was part of his cover as a double-spy, and that in actuality he was completely apathetic towards Ron and Hermione. He really had hated Harry, though that faded once Harry's defeat of Voldemort left Severus Snape with no more masters, free to rule his own life for the first time in twenty years.

And so it was that Hermione found herself in the Potions lab of Hogwarts, a few weeks after the school year had ended. Her apprenticeship had started the week after her graduation, and though Harry and Ron were aghast at her refusal to take a vacation, Hermione longed for the stimulation of long days of learning. Being sequestered away in Hogwarts had the fortunate side effect of staving off any nosy reporters, too. As part of the team that had brought down Voldemort, there was a constant demand for updates on the lives of the various Order members, and they'd all become celebrities of sorts. All the prying into her life, and the appeals for interviews and constant photos being snapped of her left her nerves frayed and her temper as short as Professor Snape's had been on his worst days.

Months before, in the heat of the Final Battle, Hermione and Ron had kissed. It had been a kiss of fear and desperation -- made in a moment when neither of them were sure they'd survive the day. Later, once it'd been shown that their side had won and live could go on, they'd had a serious discussion about it. Both agreed that nothing had really transpired and that passionate moments on a field of death didn't translate well to a stable world in which so many opportunities were open to them. They were too different, wanted different things out of life, were on separate paths. Ron was still her best friend, and she was genuinely happy for him when he announced his engagement to Hannah Abbott, a former classmate from Hufflepuff who excelled in baking and cooking and wanted children just as much (and as soon) as Ron did. They'd be a good match.

And while Hermione wasn't lacking for suitors herself, none of them seemed to appeal to her. They knew of her as the Brains of the Golden Trio, and none of them had paid her any mind before the sudden media frenzy that came with their triumph. At first, she'd gone on a few dates to appease Harry and Ron, who were both firmly of the belief that everyone should be as happily attached as they were (Harry to Ginny and Ron to Hannah). She put up with their meddling and blind dates and barrage of questions about her love life until one of those blind dates sold the story of their interaction to Rita Skeeter, who took it upon herself to paint Hermione in the least flattering light she could. Labeled as a boring spinster and a socially-inept soon-to-be old maid, Hermione found her stream of dates dried up to a trickle.

Not that she minded. She hadn't liked the superficial attention, or men hanging off of her arms like they were clinging to her own infamy. No, it was better this way. She was being mostly left alone now, and while she wished that someone truly understood her and truly cared, she filled the void in her romantic life by throwing herself into her apprenticeship.

Working with Severus Snape was turning out to be much easier than she'd anticipated. He had high standards, and they often spent hours in silence over chopping boards, not needing words to communicate the process of brewing magical potions. He was a quiet man, though he was still full of biting sarcasm and quick retorts. He wasn't as hurtful as he'd been when she was a student, though he was still cold and distant most of the time. Hermione admired his intellect, and the innate knowledge he had of Potions. Watching his graceful movements when adding ingredients to the cauldrons, and seeing the smooth sweep of his arms when reaching for things moved something deep within her stomach.

If she didn't know better, Hermione would've thought that she was developing Feelings for her mentor.

\----------

A week after this startling revelation (one that resulted in a botched brew, a messy explosion and a VERY unhappy Potions Master), Hermione wasn't feeling any more settled. This knowledge that she might harbour emotions more than just respect and friendliness towards one Severus Snape weighed on her brain.

She wasn't sleeping well, and it showed in her face. There were heavy bags under her eyes, dark circles that she erased with her own batch of Bruise-Healing Paste before leaving her rooms each morning. As if it were possible, her sessions with the Professor were even more silent than before. She missed the ease with which she'd chatter on to him about the inanities of her days. At some point he'd stopped snarking back at her to "kindly shut it before [he had] to administer a Headache Potion" for what he referred to as her "overdose of Babbling Beverage", and started actually listening to what she was saying.

The tilt of his lips was more of a smirk, but everyone knew that Severus Snape did NOT smile anyway.

Today was another quiet day. With her new pensiveness, her small talk was gone, as was his responding almost-a-smile. She wanted that back, but wasn't sure how to get there. Surely, Snape would find out about her crush and berate her for her silly feelings. He probably thought love was of the same necessity as Foolish Wand Waving -- that's to say, not necessary at all.

He gestured for her to pass him the few remaining ingredients that would complete the first trial of their variation of a Calming Draught. Silently, she handed him the tablespoon of ground moonstone, which he added while continuously stirring the gold cauldron. When he nodded again, still not looking up, she wrapped her fingers around the flask holding the Glumbumble Sap and gasped.

There, sticking to her palms, was the shiny liquid slowly seeping into her skin. Hermione moaned, which caused Professor Snape's eyes to snap up at her. Seeing her wide-opened eyes staring at her hand, he moved quickly, rushing around the table to her side with his wand outstretched.

"Scourgify!" he commanded, and the offending ingredient vanished from her skin. That didn't seem to be enough for him, and Snape dragged Hermione across the room, turning on the tap at the barely-used sink and rubbing soap into her palm.

Water cascaded over the point where their fingers met, and Hermione intertwined hers with his.

"Don't leave me," she murmured, her eyes flickering to his face. He stiffened and tried to release himself from her grip, but there was desperation in her grasp and she refused to let go.

"If you should vanish, I'm sure to fade."

At her softly-uttered words, he froze again, a glimmer of panic in his dark black eyes. As he was too startled to move away, she shifted towards him, chuckling at the thought, _"Severus looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Oh! Prongs! He would hate to think that I've just inadvertently compared him to his childhood nemesis."_

With her wet hand pressed to his chest, she could feel his heart beating through all the layers of clothes that separated them. Hermione moved forward until she was taut against him, her head tilted back so she could meet his still-startled gaze.

"Severus." His name on her tongue was a plea, and she felt him shiver beneath her fingers at the soft hiss.

"You undo me. I burn for you, yearn for you, and every bloody day you just peer at me with that shuttered look from across the steaming cauldrons that bubble between us. I want this. You should know by know that I have a tendency to achieve my goals, and as you are it, you might make it easy for me and just ... give in."

Something in his eyes flickered, but he stayed still. When Hermione leaned forward more, she lost her balance a bit -- but his hand came up behind her and steadied her before either of them could fall.

The light touch of his fingers against her spine softened the last of her unraveling resolve, and before she could think of what she was doing, Hermione rose up on her toes and captured his bottom lip in her teeth.

"Severus Snape, just the sound of your voice does things to me that I've never allowed any other man to do. When you speak, warmth floods my insides and I cannot take it anymore."

She was muttering these things into his mouth now, her breath coming in short pants as her hands trailed their way up his chest to lock around his neck and bring his face down to hers. The heat of her exhalations seemed to ignite something within her seemingly-frozen Professor as well.

Suddenly, his lips were crushed to hers and she gasped. His grip tightened on her waist as his other hand snaked to caress the back of her thighs and before she could register that she was being thoroughly kissed he pulled away.

"Miss Granger. Hermione. Look at me. What do you see?"

Their eyes locked and she felt a pull inside her, and thoughts and feelings were filling her head. _These are from HIS mind_ , she thought excitedly, filtering through everything he was feeding her. There was fear and anger and guilt roiling about in the waves of his transferred emotions. Burrowing deeper, she could feel the warmth of his lust and something else, something he was trying to keep hidden. She chased it.

It was hope. _Hope_ , that she would find something worth keeping in his arms, that he could be the one to wrap her up tightly every night. It surprised her, but she covered quickly.

Breaking his gaze, she broke the connection as well.

Her fingers were still locked behind his neck, and he was stooped a little in order to be able to look at her face. Unsure about her reaction, he attempted to twist his head to stare at the grey stone walls that kept them hidden from the rest of the castle.

"Oh no you don't!", she growled, putting just enough pressure on his head to force him to look back at her. Without saying any words she lifted her lips and pressed them to his, hoping that she could learn to communicate just what she'd been trying to tell him all along.


End file.
